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If you own a dog that sheds a lot you understand my pain. Mara is part Shepard, part Lab so she has the shedding down part from every angle. I can vacuum the entire house and five minutes later watch a tumbleweed of fur go rolling by. It is a never-ending battle that I lose every time. I’ve ask a lot of groomers about how to help shed her on my own time with a good tool. I’ve seen a million different brushes, some good some bad, but recently a groomer recommended to me the ZoomGroom.

I used to use a slicker brush, but it always seemed to scare Mara. I found out that it is easy to hurt dogs with them in you go too deep. The brush is metal can scratch their skin and make brushing really unpleasant for them. For fluffier dogs it make be more ideal, but for most dogs I’ve found that it’s really not. Mara just hated it.

The ZoomGroom is made by Kong, and is all rubber, just like the chew toys. They come in various sizes depending on the size of your pet and also make one specifically for cats – same brush but a different shape. Mara is 55 lbs and the large size is perfect for her. One of the great things about this brush is that it can also be used in the tub for shampooing. It works up a great lather and helps pull out the loose undercoat at the same time. I highly recommend brushing your dog outside if possible because it will pull off a lot of fur, probably more than you’d think. This also works great on all types of coats. I’ve talked to other dogs owners who use it on their big fluffy Chows and people who use it on their Boxers, while Mara falls in between. I also find the brush doubles as a doggie massage for Mara. She’ll near fall asleep on me while getting brushed.

The brushes are very reasonably priced between $5 and $10 and well worth the small investment. After a while the brush will start to wear down and become less effective, but it will be quite a while before that happens. When it does, the brush can become a great chew toy and you can get a new one for grooming. Since the toy is all rubber, same as the Kong toys, your dogs can play with the brush without worry. Occasionally Mara will swipe hers and chew on it for a bit. No harm, no foul.

I have used many different types of brushes on Mara and my boys back home who all have very different coats and enthusiasm for brushings. I highly recommend this over any other brush no matter the coat. If you groom your dog at home or you just want to be able to vacuum a little less, then definitely make the small investment in this brush.

I have always been a huge fan of Amazon, especially during my college days where buying textbooks required you to sign away your first-born and a kidney. Anytime I buy something I check the store and then check Amazon. 9 times out of 10 I can get whatever I am looking for much cheaper.

My adopted soldiers often request items that are easier and cheaper to buy online and have mailed directly to them. This week one of my soldier’s buddies was asking for Low-carb Monster Energy Drinks. In the store they sell for around $3 per can individually. For a case of 24 at BJs the cost was about $32, but I would have to pay shipping for this via USPS which would run an extra $27 based on the package dimensions and weight. Sending a case of Monster to my soldier would run almost $60 in total if I were to ship it myself. With Amazon, I paid $35.33 and shipping was free. The other bonus was that fact that I ordered on Monday and it was delivered to Afghanistan last night. I think 4 days is pretty damn good. I know my packages usually take a couple of weeks to get over there. I will definitely use Amazon for more things like this.

I was able to receive the free shipping because I signed up for a free-trial of Amazon Prime. While I was in school I signed up for a free-trial and absolutely loved it! Amazon doesn’t just offer special deals to just college students either. Here are the perks of an Amazon Prime account:

FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items

Free Release-Date Delivery on video games and more

Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Exclusive 30-minute early access to select Lightning Deals and events on MyHabit.com

Instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video

Read free books each month through Kindle First and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

Access to over a million songs and hundreds of playlists, ad-free

Amazon Mom– especially for those with little one’s in diapers, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial plus 20% off of diapers. Parents out there know how expensive diapers can be so 20% be incredibly helpful. And no, it’s not open to just moms, but rather anyone with kids.

Amazon Student – this is where I got my first taste of Amazon Prime. Amazon student offers a 6 month free trial and then a 50% discount on the usual cost of an Amazon Prime membership if you continue after the free trial. Anyone with a .edu email address can sign up, so I did it with my grad account.

Amazon Prime Trial – this is just a regular Amazon Prime free trial opportunity for anyone to sign up. You get a 30 days free with no special perks beyond that. Honestly, it’s better than nothing. My advice is to sign up now and just do all of your holiday shopping in one shot.

There is also a new part of Amazon called Prime Pantry, which allows you to do your grocery shopping. I have started using that to avoid a trip to the store. I actually find I spend less on Amazon than in the store because I don’t get to wander the store and put the things I don’t need in the cart.

I highly recommend using Amazon to save money, especially on the things you buy anyway. Before buying something st the brick and mortar stores be sure to check Amazon first because you may be surprised how much money you can save.